YouTube Works On Higher Quality Imaging

While YouTube.com has garnered millions of users around the world, not everyone has been thrilled about the picture quality. Sometimes it's grainy, or dark, or blurry. Some advertisers have shied away. And some film-makers have protested.

But the quality is changing. Quietly this week, the company began experimenting - on more than a thousand videos - with much higher quality video streams. Company officials said they expect to soon broaden the move.

On the improved videos, users may press a button to "Watch this video in higher quality." If the user's Internet connection is a good one, what comes across is two to three times as many bits per second - and a sharper, clearer picture.

"Film makers put their heart and labor into their works and they want their audience to see it as intended," said Hunter Walk, a product manager at the company. "We have an audience with voracious appetite for great video and we're going to continue to grow."

Company officials are expected to post a blog announcement about their plans later this week.